Physicians should understand and be sensitive to all of the issues that affect patients when they prescribe the tertogenic medication isotretinoin for treatment of acne vulgaris.
Professional, practical, clinical and cultural obligations should guide decision making when a funding agency restricts the types of counseling and advice it allows medical professionals to dispense.
The FDA’s approval for over-the-counter sales of emergency contraception marked a departure from its standard approval process and obstructed access to a safe and effective drug. That departure could set a dangerous precedent for future decisions.
Harm occurs when race is used as a proxy for characteristics stereotypically ascribed to members of a group, much as the obligatory mention of age is used to indicate the typical patient’s expected health status and vitality.
Forced sterilization of HIV-positive women, which is widespread in South Africa, Namibia, and Chile, violates women’s human right to autonomy and the principle of informed consent and is medically unnecessary.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(10):952-957. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.10.pfor2-1510.
Physicians who torture historically have not been held accountable by the law or medical profession, but national medical associations can promote accountability.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(10):945-951. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.10.pfor1-1510.
The use of drones and satellite imagery for humanitarian purposes raises threats to the core humanitarian principles of impartiality and respect for the independence of those being aided if disaster victims are not included in disaster planning.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(10):931-937. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.10.stas1-1510.